Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
Thanks for your co-operation!

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Basil Infused Compressed Watermelon

Compressed fruits are a great way to bring out vibrant colors and increase the density in texture. I make a simple syrup(1-1 ratio sugar to water) then add fresh basil white it's still hot and let it boil for a few minutes then let it steep till cool and strain into an ice bath. Add the basil infused simple syrup to the vacuum bag with the fruit and compress on the highest pressure.

I believe cooking gentle herbs like basil takes some flavour away of it. Try to cook the basil sous vide in the syrup
And also, isn't the watermelon getting to sweet, how much of the syrup are you using in the bag??

I believe cooking gentle herbs like basil takes some flavour away of it. Try to cook the basil sous vide in the syrup
And also, isn't the watermelon getting to sweet, how much of the syrup are you using in the bag??

I guess I just didn't think of that one, but it seems to work quite well. The syrup tastes quite basil-y and not bitter at all and it's a rather quick process. While making the video, the melon bagging, syrup pouring scene was out of the cameras view so I had to cut it. You don't need much in the bag though, really only about a 1/4 cup per bag which is about a half a watermelon. It's not too sweet as the melons aren't quite at their peak yet so it kinda just helps them into their flavor. Though it's a nice surprise when you bite the watermelon and get a nice basil flavor.

These were used in a baby arugula salad with house made duck prosciutto and a lemon basil vinaigrette. And yes at :06 there is a smiley face in the watermelon.